cwatt79
Member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2020
- Messages
- 84
- Reaction score
- 73
- Points
- 18
I recently bought a demo model 2019 GT1 with 5,000 miles on it, and the only thing I was unhappy with was the swirls in the paint. The dealer agreed to pay to have the paint corrected. While it was in the detail shop, I asked them to remove the badges since this was a service they offered and I knew I wanted the "E" badge on the front and the large Stinger script on the rear. Surely it would be safe letting professionals do it, right?
They never made it past the front. After keeping my car for three days without explanation, it was finally time to pick it up. The car was facing me as I walked into the shop. The front emblem was still on, and the paint surrounding the emblem was noticeably darker.
Turns out, when attempting to remove the front badge, they pulled paint off the front bumper and gouged up the bumper. They never informed me of their errors. Instead, this detail shop tried to repair it themselves. It appears they did Bondo work, as the surface surrounding the bumper is extremely pitted and rough. Then they went to a "buddy" and got a can of color matched-spray paint, and proceeded to spray paint the nose of my car. Needless to say, a can of spray paint did not provide an accurate match for the three-stage Hichroma Red. The color is darker and the metallic isn't even close. You can clearly see the tape lines above and below the emblem. There was also over-spray on the bottom of the bumper and on the chrome grille trim. It felt like sandpaper. They hot-glued the emblem back on.
I was stunned at the shoddy workmanship and this pathetic attempt to repair it. I understand that people make mistakes, but this attempted cover-up was inexcusable and caused more damage than was necessary.
The car is currently in a reputable body shop to properly repair and paint the front bumper, at a quoted cost of $980, which the detail shop has agreed to pay. I only hope they get a good match and don't have to blend it into the hood. Thankfully, all the over-spray I found was easily removed with paint-cleaning clay. On the bright side, the swirls are gone and the rest of the paint looks fantastic.
I decided to remove the rear emblems myself. The original Stinger badge was a piece of cake. The Kia badge was pretty tough, and my lack of patience caused me some unnecessary damage. The fishing line I used was too thick, and in one instance it dug into the paint and scratched down to the metal. I also left some scratches around the top curve of the original badge. I polished most of the damage down and filled the scratch with touch-up paint. It annoys me when I see it, but if you're not up close, you can't notice the imperfections, and the large Stinger badge looks SO MUCH BETTER than the factory badges.
Be careful with your badges.
They never made it past the front. After keeping my car for three days without explanation, it was finally time to pick it up. The car was facing me as I walked into the shop. The front emblem was still on, and the paint surrounding the emblem was noticeably darker.
Turns out, when attempting to remove the front badge, they pulled paint off the front bumper and gouged up the bumper. They never informed me of their errors. Instead, this detail shop tried to repair it themselves. It appears they did Bondo work, as the surface surrounding the bumper is extremely pitted and rough. Then they went to a "buddy" and got a can of color matched-spray paint, and proceeded to spray paint the nose of my car. Needless to say, a can of spray paint did not provide an accurate match for the three-stage Hichroma Red. The color is darker and the metallic isn't even close. You can clearly see the tape lines above and below the emblem. There was also over-spray on the bottom of the bumper and on the chrome grille trim. It felt like sandpaper. They hot-glued the emblem back on.
I was stunned at the shoddy workmanship and this pathetic attempt to repair it. I understand that people make mistakes, but this attempted cover-up was inexcusable and caused more damage than was necessary.
The car is currently in a reputable body shop to properly repair and paint the front bumper, at a quoted cost of $980, which the detail shop has agreed to pay. I only hope they get a good match and don't have to blend it into the hood. Thankfully, all the over-spray I found was easily removed with paint-cleaning clay. On the bright side, the swirls are gone and the rest of the paint looks fantastic.
I decided to remove the rear emblems myself. The original Stinger badge was a piece of cake. The Kia badge was pretty tough, and my lack of patience caused me some unnecessary damage. The fishing line I used was too thick, and in one instance it dug into the paint and scratched down to the metal. I also left some scratches around the top curve of the original badge. I polished most of the damage down and filled the scratch with touch-up paint. It annoys me when I see it, but if you're not up close, you can't notice the imperfections, and the large Stinger badge looks SO MUCH BETTER than the factory badges.
Be careful with your badges.
